Humidity sensing for an aerosol delivery device

ABSTRACT

An aerosol delivery device is provided. The aerosol delivery device comprises a control component and a humidity sensor. The humidity sensor is configured to measure a property thereof that is variable with relative humidity in an environment of the aerosol delivery device to which the humidity sensor is exposed. The humidity sensor is also configured to generate a corresponding signal that indicates a value of the property from which the relative humidity is calculable. The control component, or the humidity sensor, is configured to calculate the relative humidity from the value indicated by the corresponding signal, and control operation of at least one functional element of the aerosol delivery device based on the relative humidity so calculated, including output of the relative humidity for presentation by a display.

TECHNOLOGICAL FIELD

The present disclosure relates to aerosol delivery devices such assmoking articles, and more particularly to aerosol delivery devices thatmay utilize electrically generated heat for the production of aerosol(e.g., smoking articles commonly referred to as electronic cigarettes).The smoking articles may be configured to heat an aerosol precursor,which may incorporate materials that may be made or derived from, orotherwise incorporate tobacco, the precursor being capable of forming aninhalable substance for human consumption.

BACKGROUND

Many devices have been proposed through the years as improvements upon,or alternatives to, smoking products that require combusting tobacco foruse. Many of those devices purportedly have been designed to provide thesensations associated with cigarette, cigar, or pipe smoking, butwithout delivering considerable quantities of incomplete combustion andpyrolysis products that result from the burning of tobacco. To this end,there have been proposed numerous alternative smoking products, flavorgenerators, and medicinal inhalers that utilize electrical energy tovaporize or heat a volatile material, or attempt to provide thesensations of cigarette, cigar, or pipe smoking without burning tobaccoto a significant degree. See, for example, the various alternativesmoking articles, aerosol delivery devices and heat generating sourcesset forth in the background art described in U.S. Pat. No. 8,881,737 toCollett et al., U.S. Pat. App. Pub. No. 2013/0255702 to Griffith Jr. etal., U.S. Pat. App. Pub. No. 2014/0000638 to Sebastian et al., U.S. Pat.App. Pub. No. 2014/0096781 to Sears et al., U.S. Pat. App. Pub. No.2014/0096782 to Ampolini et al., U.S. Pat. App. Pub. No. 2015/0059780 toDavis et al., and U.S. patent application Ser. No. 15/222,615 to Watsonet al., filed Jul. 28, 2016, all of which are incorporated herein byreference. See also, for example, the various embodiments of productsand heating configurations described in the background sections of U.S.Pat. No. 5,388,594 to Counts et al. and U.S. Pat. No. 8,079,371 toRobinson et al., which are incorporated by reference in theirentireties.

However, it may be desirable to provide aerosol delivery devices withfunctionality for sensing the relative humidity within an environment ofthe aerosol delivery devices.

BRIEF SUMMARY

The present disclosure relates to aerosol delivery devices, methods offorming such devices, and elements of such devices. The presentdisclosure thus includes, without limitation, the following exampleimplementations. In some example implementations, an aerosol deliverydevice is provided. The aerosol delivery device may include at least onehousing enclosing a reservoir configured to retain an aerosol precursorcomposition, a heating element and a control component. The controlcomponent is configured to operate in an active mode in which thecontrol component is configured to control the heating element toactivate and vaporize components of the aerosol precursor composition.The humidity sensor is configured to measure a property thereof that isvariable with relative humidity in an environment of the aerosoldelivery device, and generate a corresponding signal that indicates avalue of the property from which the relative humidity is calculable.The control component or the humidity sensor is further configured tocalculate the relative humidity from the value indicated by thecorresponding signal, and control operation of at least one functionalelement of the aerosol delivery device based on the relative humidity socalculated, including output of the relative humidity for presentationby a display.

In some example implementations of the aerosol device of the precedingor any subsequent example implementation, or any combination thereof,the humidity sensor is a capacitive, resistive or thermal conductivehumidity sensor.

In some example implementations of the aerosol device of any precedingor any subsequent example implementation, or any combination thereof,the humidity sensor is a resistive humidity sensor, and the humiditysensor being configured to measure the property includes the resistivehumidity sensor being configured to measure an impedance thereof that isexponentially proportional to the relative humidity in the environment.

In some example implementations of the aerosol device of any precedingor any subsequent example implementation, or any combination thereof,the humidity sensor is a capacitive humidity sensor, and the humiditysensor being configured to measure the property includes the capacitivehumidity sensor being configured to measure a dielectric constantthereof that is directly proportional to the relative humidity in theenvironment.

In some example implementations of the aerosol device of any precedingor any subsequent example implementation, or any combination thereof,the aerosol delivery device further comprises a decoupling capacitoroperatively coupled to the humidity sensor and configured to reducenoise associated with the corresponding signal.

In some example implementations of the aerosol device of any precedingor any subsequent example implementation, or any combination thereof,the aerosol delivery device further comprises a rechargeable powersource configured to power the humidity sensor and including a lithiumion battery (LiB), thin-film solid state battery (SSB) orsupercapacitor.

In some example implementations of the aerosol device of any precedingor any subsequent example implementation, or any combination thereof,the aerosol delivery device further comprises a linear regulator or aswitching regulator operatively coupled between the power source andhumidity sensor, and configured to direct a constant current from thepower source to the humidity sensor.

In some example implementations of the aerosol device of any precedingor any subsequent example implementation, or any combination thereof,the humidity sensor is further configured to measure a temperature inthe environment, and generate a second corresponding signal thatindicates the temperature, and the control component or humidity sensoris further configured to control the at least one functional elementincludes being configured to control the at least one functional elementfurther based on the temperature indicated by the second correspondingsignal, and control of the at least one functional element additionallyincludes output of the temperature for presentation by the display.

In some example implementations of the aerosol device of any precedingor any subsequent example implementation, or any combination thereof,output of the relative humidity includes output of the relative humidityfor presentation by the display in a tabular or graphic format.

In some example implementations of the aerosol device of any precedingor any subsequent example implementation, or any combination thereof,the aerosol delivery device further comprises a communication interfaceconfigured to enable wireless communication, and the control componentor the humidity sensor is further configured to control operation of theat least one functional element includes being configured to cause thecommunication interface to wirelessly communicate the relative humidityto a computing device configured to control a humidification system inresponse thereto.

In some example implementations of the aerosol device of any precedingor any subsequent example implementation, or any combination thereof,the housing of the aerosol delivery device defines a mouthend having thehumidity sensor positioned therein, and the environment of the aerosoldelivery device includes a mouth of a user of the aerosol deliverydevice, and the control component or the humidity sensor being furtherconfigured to control operation of the at least one functional elementof the aerosol delivery device based on the relative humidity socalculated includes being configured to alter a particle size of anaerosol produced thereby.

In some example implementations, a control body coupled or coupleablewith a cartridge to form an aerosol delivery device is provided. Thecartridge is equipped with a heating element and contains an aerosolprecursor composition. The control body may include a housing, andwithin the housing, a control component and a humidity sensor. Thecontrol component is configured to operate in an active mode in whichthe control component is configured to control the heating element toactivate and vaporize components of the aerosol precursor composition.The humidity sensor is configured to measure a property thereof that isvariable with relative humidity in an environment of the aerosoldelivery device, and generate a corresponding signal that indicates avalue of the property from which the relative humidity is calculable.The control component or the humidity sensor is further configured tocalculate the relative humidity from the value indicated by thecorresponding signal, and control operation of at least one functionalelement of the aerosol delivery device based on the relative humidity socalculated, including output of the relative humidity for presentationby a display.

In some example implementations of the control body of the preceding orany subsequent example implementation, or any combination thereof, thehumidity sensor is a capacitive, resistive or thermal conductivehumidity sensor.

In some example implementations of the control body of any preceding orany subsequent example implementation, or any combination thereof, thehumidity sensor is a resistive humidity sensor, and the humidity sensorbeing configured to measure the property includes the resistive humiditysensor being configured to measure an impedance thereof that isexponentially proportional to the relative humidity in the environment.

In some example implementations of the control body of any preceding orany subsequent example implementation, or any combination thereof, thehumidity sensor is a capacitive humidity sensor, and the humidity sensorbeing configured to measure the property includes the capacitivehumidity sensor being configured to measure a dielectric constantthereof that is directly proportional to the relative humidity in theenvironment.

In some example implementations of the control body of any preceding orany subsequent example implementation, or any combination thereof, thecontrol body further comprises a decoupling capacitor operativelycoupled to the humidity sensor and configured to reduce noise associatedwith the corresponding signal.

In some example implementations of the control body of any preceding orany subsequent example implementation, or any combination thereof, thecontrol body further comprises a rechargeable power source configured topower the humidity sensor and including a lithium ion battery (LiB),thin-film solid state battery (SSB) or supercapacitor.

In some example implementations of the control body of any preceding orany subsequent example implementation, or any combination thereof, thecontrol body further comprises a linear regulator or a switchingregulator operatively coupled between the power source and humiditysensor, and configured to direct a constant current from the powersource to the humidity sensor.

In some example implementations of the control body of any preceding orany subsequent example implementation, or any combination thereof, thehumidity sensor is further configured to measure a temperature in theenvironment, and generate a second corresponding signal that indicatesthe temperature, and the control component or humidity sensor beingfurther configured to control the at least one functional elementincludes being configured to control the at least one functional elementfurther based on the temperature indicated by the second correspondingsignal, and control of the at least one functional element additionallyincludes output of the temperature for presentation by the display.

In some example implementations of the control body of any preceding orany subsequent example implementation, or any combination thereof,output of the relative humidity includes output of the relative humidityfor presentation by the display in a tabular or graphic format.

In some example implementations of the control body of any preceding orany subsequent example implementation, or any combination thereof, thecontrol body further comprises a communication interface configured toenable wireless communication, and the control component or the humiditysensor being further configured to control operation of the at least onefunctional element includes being configured to cause the communicationinterface to wirelessly communicate the relative humidity to a computingdevice configured to control a humidification system in responsethereto.

In some example implementations of the control body of any preceding orany subsequent example implementation, or any combination thereof, thehousing of the aerosol delivery device defines a mouthend having thehumidity sensor positioned therein, and the environment of the aerosoldelivery device includes a mouth of a user of the aerosol deliverydevice, and the control component or the humidity sensor being furtherconfigured to control operation of the at least one functional elementof the aerosol delivery device based on the relative humidity socalculated includes being configured to alter a particle size of anaerosol produced thereby.

These and other features, aspects, and advantages of the presentdisclosure will be apparent from a reading of the following detaileddescription together with the accompanying drawings, which are brieflydescribed below. The present disclosure includes any combination of two,three, four or more features or elements set forth in this disclosure,regardless of whether such features or elements are expressly combinedor otherwise recited in a specific example implementation describedherein. This disclosure is intended to be read holistically such thatany separable features or elements of the disclosure, in any of itsaspects and example implementations, should be viewed as intended,namely to be combinable, unless the context of the disclosure clearlydictates otherwise.

It will therefore be appreciated that this Brief Summary is providedmerely for purposes of summarizing some example implementations so as toprovide a basic understanding of some aspects of the disclosure.Accordingly, it will be appreciated that the above described exampleimplementations are merely examples and should not be construed tonarrow the scope or spirit of the disclosure in any way. Other exampleimplementations, aspects and advantages will become apparent from thefollowing detailed description taken in conjunction with theaccompanying drawings which illustrate, by way of example, theprinciples of some described example implementations.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING(S)

Having thus described the disclosure in the foregoing general terms,reference will now be made to the accompanying drawings, which are notnecessarily drawn to scale, and wherein:

FIG. 1 illustrates a side view of an aerosol delivery device including acartridge coupled to a control body, according to an exampleimplementation of the present disclosure;

FIG. 2 is a partially cut-away view of the aerosol delivery deviceaccording to various example implementations; and

FIG. 3 illustrates various components of the aerosol delivery device ofFIGS. 1 and 2, according to various example implementations.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The present disclosure will now be described more fully hereinafter withreference to example implementations thereof. These exampleimplementations are described so that this disclosure will be thoroughand complete, and will fully convey the scope of the disclosure to thoseskilled in the art. Indeed, the disclosure may be embodied in manydifferent forms and should not be construed as limited to theimplementations set forth herein; rather, these implementations areprovided so that this disclosure will satisfy applicable legalrequirements. As used in the specification and the appended claims, thesingular forms “a,” “an,” “the” and the like include plural referentsunless the context clearly dictates otherwise. Also, while reference maybe made herein to quantitative measures, values, geometric relationshipsor the like, unless otherwise stated, any one or more if not all ofthese may be absolute or approximate to account for acceptablevariations that may occur, such as those due to engineering tolerancesor the like.

As described hereinafter, example implementations of the presentdisclosure relate to aerosol delivery systems. Aerosol delivery systemsaccording to the present disclosure use electrical energy to heat amaterial (preferably without combusting the material to any significantdegree) to form an inhalable substance; and components of such systemshave the form of articles most preferably are sufficiently compact to beconsidered hand-held devices. That is, use of components of preferredaerosol delivery systems does not result in the production of smoke inthe sense that aerosol results principally from by-products ofcombustion or pyrolysis of tobacco, but rather, use of those preferredsystems results in the production of vapors resulting fromvolatilization or vaporization of certain components incorporatedtherein. In some example implementations, components of aerosol deliverysystems may be characterized as electronic cigarettes, and thoseelectronic cigarettes most preferably incorporate tobacco and/orcomponents derived from tobacco, and hence deliver tobacco derivedcomponents in aerosol form.

Aerosol generating pieces of certain preferred aerosol delivery systemsmay provide many of the sensations (e.g., inhalation and exhalationrituals, types of tastes or flavors, organoleptic effects, physicalfeel, use rituals, visual cues such as those provided by visibleaerosol, and the like) of smoking a cigarette, cigar or pipe that isemployed by lighting and burning tobacco (and hence inhaling tobaccosmoke), without any substantial degree of combustion of any componentthereof. For example, the user of an aerosol generating piece of thepresent disclosure can hold and use that piece much like a smokeremploys a traditional type of smoking article, draw on one end of thatpiece for inhalation of aerosol produced by that piece, take or drawpuffs at selected intervals of time, and the like.

Aerosol delivery systems of the present disclosure also can becharacterized as being vapor-producing articles or medicament deliveryarticles. Thus, such articles or devices can be adapted so as to provideone or more substances (e.g., flavors and/or pharmaceutical activeingredients) in an inhalable form or state. For example, inhalablesubstances can be substantially in the form of a vapor (i.e., asubstance that is in the gas phase at a temperature lower than itscritical point). Alternatively, inhalable substances can be in the formof an aerosol (i.e., a suspension of fine solid particles or liquiddroplets in a gas). For purposes of simplicity, the term “aerosol” asused herein is meant to include vapors, gases and aerosols of a form ortype suitable for human inhalation, whether or not visible, and whetheror not of a form that might be considered to be smoke-like.

Aerosol delivery systems of the present disclosure generally include anumber of components provided within an outer body or shell, which maybe referred to as a housing. The overall design of the outer body orshell can vary, and the format or configuration of the outer body thatcan define the overall size and shape of the aerosol delivery device canvary. Typically, an elongated body resembling the shape of a cigaretteor cigar can be a formed from a single, unitary housing or the elongatedhousing can be formed of two or more separable bodies. For example, anaerosol delivery device can comprise an elongated shell or body that canbe substantially tubular in shape and, as such, resemble the shape of aconventional cigarette or cigar. In one example, all of the componentsof the aerosol delivery device are contained within one housing.Alternatively, an aerosol delivery device can comprise two or morehousings that are joined and are separable. For example, an aerosoldelivery device can possess at one end a control body comprising ahousing containing one or more reusable components (e.g., an accumulatorsuch as a rechargeable battery and/or rechargeable supercapacitor, andvarious electronics for controlling the operation of that article), andat the other end and removably coupleable thereto, an outer body orshell containing a disposable portion (e.g., a disposableflavor-containing cartridge).

Aerosol delivery systems of the present disclosure most preferablycomprise some combination of a power source (i.e., an electrical powersource), at least one control component (e.g., means for actuating,controlling, regulating and ceasing power for heat generation, such asby controlling electrical current flow the power source to othercomponents of the article—e.g., a microprocessor, individually or aspart of a microcontroller), a heater or heat generation member (e.g., anelectrical resistance heating element or other component, which alone orin combination with one or more further elements may be commonlyreferred to as an “atomizer”), an aerosol precursor composition (e.g.,commonly a liquid capable of yielding an aerosol upon application ofsufficient heat, such as ingredients commonly referred to as “smokejuice,” “e-liquid” and “e-juice”), and a mouthend region or tip forallowing draw upon the aerosol delivery device for aerosol inhalation(e.g., a defined airflow path through the article such that aerosolgenerated can be withdrawn therefrom upon draw).

More specific formats, configurations and arrangements of componentswithin the aerosol delivery systems of the present disclosure will beevident in light of the further disclosure provided hereinafter.Additionally, the selection and arrangement of various aerosol deliverysystem components can be appreciated upon consideration of thecommercially available electronic aerosol delivery devices, such asthose representative products referenced in background art section ofthe present disclosure. Further, the arrangement of the componentswithin the aerosol delivery device can also be appreciated uponconsideration of the commercially available electronic aerosol deliverydevices. Examples of commercially available products, for which thecomponents thereof, methods of operation thereof, materials includedtherein, and/or other attributes thereof may be included in the devicesof the present disclosure have been marketed as ACCORD® by Philip MorrisIncorporated; ALPHA™, JOYE 510™ and M4™ by InnoVapor LLC; CIRRUS™ andFLING™ by White Cloud Cigarettes; BLU™ by Lorillard Technologies, Inc.;COHITA™, COLIBRI™, ELITE CLASSIC™, MAGNUM™, PHANTOM™ and SENSE™ byEpuffer® International Inc.; DUOPRO™, STORM™ and VAPORKING® byElectronic Cigarettes, Inc.; EGAR™ by Egar Australia; eGo-C™ and eGo-T™by Joyetech; ELUSION™ by Elusion UK Ltd; EONSMOKE® by Eonsmoke LLC; FIN™by FIN Branding Group, LLC; SMOKE® by Green Smoke Inc. USA; GREENARETTE™by Greenarette LLC; HALLIGAN™ HENDU™, JET™, MAXXQ™, PINK™ and PITBULL™by Smoke Stik®; HEATBAR™ by Philip Morris International, Inc.; HYDROIMPERIAL™ and LXE™ from Crown7; LOGIC™ and THE CUBAN™ by LOGICTechnology; LUCI® by Luciano Smokes Inc.; METRO® by Nicotek, LLC; NJOY®and ONEJOY™ by Sottera, Inc.; NO. 7™ by SS Choice LLC; PREMIUMELECTRONIC CIGARETTE™ by PremiumEstore LLC; RAPP E-MYSTICK™ by RuyanAmerica, Inc.; RED DRAGON™ by Red Dragon Products, LLC; RUYAN® by RuyanGroup (Holdings) Ltd.; SF® by Smoker Friendly International, LLC; GREENSMART SMOKER® by The Smart Smoking Electronic Cigarette Company Ltd.;SMOKE ASSIST® by Coastline Products LLC; SMOKING EVERYWHERE® by SmokingEverywhere, Inc.; V2CIGS™ by VMR Products LLC; VAPOR NINE™ by VaporNineLLC; VAPOR4LIFE® by Vapor 4 Life, Inc.; VEPPO™ by E-CigaretteDirect,LLC; AVIGO, VUSE, VUSE CONNECT, VUSE FOB, VUSE HYBRID, ALTO, ALTO+,MODO, CIRO, FOX+FOG, AND SOLO+ by R. J. Reynolds Vapor Company; MISTICMENTHOL by Mistic Ecigs; and VYPE by CN Creative Ltd. Yet otherelectrically powered aerosol delivery devices, and in particular thosedevices that have been characterized as so-called electronic cigarettes,have been marketed under the tradenames COOLER VISIONS™; DIRECT E-CIG™;DRAGONFLY™; EMIST™; EVERSMOKE™; GAMUCCI®; HYBRID FLAME™; KNIGHT STICKS™;ROYAL BLUES™; SMOKETIP®; SOUTH BEACH SMOKE™.

Additional manufacturers, designers, and/or assignees of components andrelated technologies that may be employed in the aerosol delivery deviceof the present disclosure include Shenzhen Jieshibo Technology ofShenzhen, China; Shenzhen First Union Technology of Shenzhen City,China; Safe Cig of Los Angeles, Calif.; Janty Asia Company of thePhilippines; Joyetech Changzhou Electronics of Shenzhen, China; SISResources; B2B International Holdings of Dover, Del.; Evolv LLC of OH;Montrade of Bologna, Italy; Shenzhen Bauway Technology of Shenzhen,China; Global Vapor Trademarks Inc. of Pompano Beach, Fla.; Vapor Corp.of Fort Lauderdale, Fla.; Nemtra GMBH of Raschau-Markersbach, Germany,Perrigo L. Co. of Allegan, Mich.; Needs Co., Ltd.; Smokefree Innotec ofLas Vegas, Nev.; McNeil AB of Helsingborg, Sweden; Chong Corp; AlexzaPharmaceuticals of Mountain View, Calif.; BLEC, LLC of Charlotte, N.C.;Gaitrend Sarl of Rohrbach-les-Bitche, France; FeelLife BioscienceInternational of Shenzhen, China; Vishay Electronic BMGH of Selb,Germany; Shenzhen Smaco Technology Ltd. of Shenzhen, China; VaporSystems International of Boca Raton, Fla.; Exonoid Medical Devices ofIsrael; Shenzhen Nowotech Electronic of Shenzhen, China; MinilogicDevice Corporation of Hong Kong, China; Shenzhen Kontle Electronics ofShenzhen, China, and Fuma International, LLC of Medina, Ohio, 21stCentury Smoke of Beloit, Wis., and Kimree Holdings (HK) Co. Limited ofHong Kong, China.

In various examples, an aerosol delivery device can comprise a reservoirconfigured to retain the aerosol precursor composition. The reservoirparticularly can be formed of a porous material (e.g., a fibrousmaterial) and thus may be referred to as a porous substrate (e.g., afibrous substrate).

A fibrous substrate useful as a reservoir in an aerosol delivery devicecan be a woven or nonwoven material formed of a plurality of fibers orfilaments and can be formed of one or both of natural fibers andsynthetic fibers. For example, a fibrous substrate may comprise afiberglass material. In particular examples, a cellulose acetatematerial can be used. In other example implementations, a carbonmaterial can be used. A reservoir may be substantially in the form of acontainer and may include a fibrous material included therein.

FIG. 1 illustrates a side view of an aerosol delivery device 100including a control body 102 and a cartridge 104, according to variousexample implementations of the present disclosure. In particular, FIG. 1illustrates the control body and the cartridge coupled to one another.The control body and the cartridge may be detachably aligned in afunctioning relationship. Various mechanisms may connect the cartridgeto the control body to result in a threaded engagement, a press-fitengagement, an interference fit, a magnetic engagement or the like. Theaerosol delivery device may be substantially rod-like, substantiallytubular shaped, or substantially cylindrically shaped in some exampleimplementations when the cartridge and the control body are in anassembled configuration. The aerosol delivery device may also besubstantially rectangular or rhomboidal in cross-section, which may lenditself to greater compatibility with a substantially flat or thin-filmpower source, such as a power source including a flat battery. Thecartridge and control body may include separate, respective housings orouter bodies, which may be formed of any of a number of differentmaterials. The housing may be formed of any suitable, structurally-soundmaterial. In some examples, the housing may be formed of a metal oralloy, such as stainless steel, aluminum or the like. Other suitablematerials include various plastics (e.g., polycarbonate), metal-platingover plastic, ceramics and the like.

In some example implementations, one or both of the control body 102 orthe cartridge 104 of the aerosol delivery device 100 may be referred toas being disposable or as being reusable. For example, the control bodymay have a replaceable battery or a rechargeable battery (e.g., arechargeable lithium ion battery) and thus may be combined with any typeof recharging technology, including connection to a typical wall outlet,connection to a car charger (i.e., a cigarette lighter receptacle),connection to a computer, such as through a universal serial bus (USB)cable or connector, connection to a photovoltaic cell (sometimesreferred to as a solar cell) or solar panel of solar cells (e.g.,gallium arsenide (GaAs) solar cell with an efficiency of 28%), orconnection to a RF-to-DC converter. Further, in some exampleimplementations, the cartridge may comprise a single-use cartridge, asdisclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 8,910,639 to Chang et al., which isincorporated herein by reference.

FIG. 2 more particularly illustrates the aerosol delivery device 100, inaccordance with some example implementations. As seen in the cut-awayview illustrated therein, again, the aerosol delivery device cancomprise a control body 102 and a cartridge 104 each of which include anumber of respective components. The components illustrated in FIG. 2are representative of the components that may be present in a controlbody and cartridge and are not intended to limit the scope of componentsthat are encompassed by the present disclosure. As shown, for example,the control body can be formed of a control body shell 206 that caninclude a control component 208 (e.g., a microprocessor, individually oras part of a microcontroller), a flow sensor 210, a power source 212 andone or more light-emitting diodes (LEDs) 214, and such components can bevariably aligned. The LED may be one example of a suitable visualindicator with which the aerosol delivery device may be equipped. Otherindicators such as audio indicators (e.g., speakers), haptic indicators(e.g., vibration motors) or the like can be included in addition to oras an alternative to visual indicators such as the LED.

The power source 212 may include, for example, a battery (single-use orrechargeable) such as a single-use or rechargeable lithium-ion battery(LiB), solid-state battery (SSB), thin-film SSB, supercapacitor or thelike, or some combination thereof. Some examples of a suitable powersource are provided in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 14/918,926 toSur et al., filed Oct. 21, 2015, which is incorporated herein byreference.

Examples of suitable solid-state batteries are STMicroelectronics'EnFilm™ rechargeable solid-state lithium thin-film batteries, whichfeature a LiCoO₂ cathode, LiPON ceramic electrolyte and a lithium anode.In particular, the EFL700A39 battery from STMicroelectronics has anominal voltage of 4.1V and thickness of only 220 um. The battery israted for a 10-year life time, and a 4000 charge-discharge cycle life.The battery also has a relatively short typical charge, in someinstances charging in approximately 30 minutes (e.g., up to 30 minutesbefore the battery is fully (100%) charged or up to 10 minutes beforethe battery is at least 80% charged). The battery has a ceramicelectrolyte, which may produce currents by movements of electrons andthus reduce the risk of undesirable dendrite growth in the cathode andanode that may otherwise lead to a short circuit. The ceramicelectrolyte may also prevent a fire hazard upon contact with fire. Insome examples, the solid electrolyte may avoid the solid electrolyteinterface (SEI).

The supercapacitor may be any of a number of different types ofsupercapacitors, such as an electric double-layer capacitor (EDLC), ahybrid capacitor such as a lithium-ion capacitor (LIC), or the like.Supercapacitors such as EDLCs may be rated for a fast charge (e.g.,three seconds). The supercapacitor be rated for a long lifetime (e.g.,32 years) and cycle life (e.g., 1,000,000 charge-discharge cycles), andprovide an environmentally-friendly, lower-cost solution. Thesupercapacitor may provide high-current pulses to the electrical load.And as the supercapacitor does not include an inflammable electrolytebetween the electrodes, the supercapacitor may therefore operate withonly a negligible probability of a short circuit.

Hybrid capacitors such as the LIC generally have features of a battery(high voltage and high energy density), while maintaining thetraditional characteristics of a capacitor of rapid charge (e.g., three(3) to one-hundred twenty (120) seconds). A hybrid capacitor may berechargeable, and have the ability to operate on its own for a longerperiod without the need of another source of energy from which thehybrid capacitor may be chargeable. The hybrid capacitor may have alonger lifetime (e.g., 10 years) and cycle life as compared to otheroptions, and is more environmentally friendly.

The cartridge 104 can be formed of a cartridge shell 216 enclosing areservoir 218 configured to retain the aerosol precursor composition,and including a heater 220 (sometimes referred to as a heating element).In various configurations, this structure may be referred to as a tank;and accordingly, the terms “cartridge,” “tank” and the like may be usedinterchangeably to refer to a shell or other housing enclosing areservoir for aerosol precursor composition, and including a heater.

As shown, in some examples, the reservoir 218 may be in fluidcommunication with a liquid transport element 222 adapted to wick orotherwise transport an aerosol precursor composition stored in thereservoir housing to the heater 220. In some examples, a valve may bepositioned between the reservoir and heater, and configured to controlan amount of aerosol precursor composition passed or delivered from thereservoir to the heater.

Various examples of materials configured to produce heat when electricalcurrent is applied therethrough may be employed to form the heater 220.The heater in these examples may be a resistive heating element such asa wire coil, micro heater or the like. Example materials from which theheating element may be formed include Kanthal (FeCrAl), Nichrome,stainless steel, Molybdenum disilicide (MoSi₂), molybdenum silicide(MoSi), Molybdenum disilicide doped with Aluminum (Mo(Si,Al)₂), graphiteand graphite-based materials (e.g., carbon-based foams and yarns) andceramics (e.g., positive or negative temperature coefficient ceramics).Example implementations of heaters or heating members useful in aerosoldelivery devices according to the present disclosure are furtherdescribed below, and can be incorporated into devices such asillustrated in FIG. 2 as described herein.

An opening 224 may be present in the cartridge shell 216 (e.g., at themouthend 225) to allow for egress of formed aerosol from the cartridge104.

The cartridge 104 also may include one or more electronic components226, which may include an integrated circuit, a memory component, asensor, or the like. The electronic components may be adapted tocommunicate with the control component 208 and/or with an externaldevice by wired or wireless means. The electronic components may bepositioned anywhere within the cartridge or a base 228 thereof.

Although the control component 208 and the flow sensor 210 areillustrated separately, it is understood that various electroniccomponents including the control component and the flow sensor may becombined on an electronic printed circuit board (PCB) that supports andelectrically connects the electronic components. Further, the PCB may bepositioned horizontally relative the illustration of FIG. 1 in that thePCB can be lengthwise parallel to the central axis of the control body.In some examples, the air flow sensor may comprise its own PCB or otherbase element to which it can be attached. In some examples, a flexiblePCB may be utilized. A flexible PCB may be configured into a variety ofshapes, include substantially tubular shapes. In some examples, aflexible PCB may be combined with, layered onto, or form part or all ofa heater substrate. In some examples, a double sided PCB may be used toenable a substantially smaller form factor.

The control body 102 and the cartridge 104 may include componentsadapted to facilitate a fluid engagement therebetween. As illustrated inFIG. 2, the control body can include a coupler 230 having a cavity 232therein. The base 228 of the cartridge can be adapted to engage thecoupler and can include a projection 234 adapted to fit within thecavity. Such engagement can facilitate a stable connection between thecontrol body and the cartridge as well as establish an electricalconnection between the power source 212 and control component 208 in thecontrol body and the heater 220 in the cartridge. Further, the controlbody shell 206 can include an air intake 236, which may be a notch inthe shell where it connects to the coupler that allows for passage ofambient air around the coupler and into the shell where it then passesthrough the cavity 232 of the coupler and into the cartridge through theprojection 234.

A coupler and a base useful according to the present disclosure aredescribed in U.S. Pat. App. Pub. No. 2014/0261495 to Novak et al., whichis incorporated herein by reference. For example, the coupler 230 asseen in FIG. 2 may define an outer periphery 238 configured to mate withan inner periphery 240 of the base 228. In one example the innerperiphery of the base may define a radius that is substantially equalto, or slightly greater than, a radius of the outer periphery of thecoupler. Further, the coupler may define one or more protrusions 242 atthe outer periphery configured to engage one or more recesses 244defined at the inner periphery of the base. However, various otherexamples of structures, shapes and components may be employed to couplethe base to the coupler. In some examples the connection between thebase of the cartridge 104 and the coupler of the control body 102 may besubstantially permanent, whereas in other examples the connectiontherebetween may be releasable such that, for example, the control bodymay be reused with one or more additional cartridges that may bedisposable and/or refillable.

The aerosol delivery device 100 may be substantially rod-like orsubstantially tubular shaped or substantially cylindrically shaped insome examples. In other examples, further shapes and dimensions areencompassed—e.g., a rectangular or triangular cross-section,multifaceted shapes, or the like.

The reservoir 218 illustrated in FIG. 2 can be a container or can be afibrous reservoir, as presently described. For example, the reservoircan comprise one or more layers of nonwoven fibers substantially formedinto the shape of a tube encircling the interior of the cartridge shell216, in this example. An aerosol precursor composition can be retainedin the reservoir. Liquid components, for example, can be sorptivelyretained by the reservoir. The reservoir can be in fluid connection withthe liquid transport element 222. The liquid transport element cantransport the aerosol precursor composition stored in the reservoir viacapillary action to the heater 220 that is in the form of a metal wirecoil in this example. As such, the heater is in a heating arrangementwith the liquid transport element. Example implementations of reservoirsand transport elements useful in aerosol delivery devices according tothe present disclosure are further described below, and such reservoirsand/or transport elements can be incorporated into devices such asillustrated in FIG. 2 as described herein. In particular, specificcombinations of heating members and transport elements as furtherdescribed below may be incorporated into devices such as illustrated inFIG. 2 as described herein.

In use, when a user draws on the aerosol delivery device 100, airflow isdetected by the flow sensor 210, and the heater 220 is activated tovaporize components of the aerosol precursor composition. Drawing uponthe mouthend of the aerosol delivery device causes ambient air to enterthe air intake 236 and pass through the cavity 232 in the coupler 230and the central opening in the projection 234 of the base 228. In thecartridge 104, the drawn air combines with the formed vapor to form anaerosol. The aerosol is whisked, aspirated or otherwise drawn away fromthe heater and out the opening 224 in the mouthend of the aerosoldelivery device.

In some examples, the aerosol delivery device 100 may include a numberof additional software-controlled functions. For example, the aerosoldelivery device may include a power-source protection circuit configuredto detect power-source input, loads on the power-source terminals, undervoltage lockout protection, over voltage protection, over temperatureprotection, electrolyte compensation and charging input. Thepower-source protection circuit may include short-circuit protection,under-voltage lock out and/or over-voltage charge protection. Theaerosol delivery device may also include components for ambienttemperature measurement, and its control component 208 may be configuredto control at least one functional element to inhibit power-sourcecharging—particularly of any battery—if the ambient temperature is belowa certain temperature (e.g., 0° C.) or above a certain temperature(e.g., 45° C.) prior to start of charging or during charging.

Power delivery from the power source 212 may vary over the course ofeach puff on the device 100 according to a power control mechanism. Thedevice may include a “long puff” safety timer such that in the eventthat a user or component failure (e.g., flow sensor 210) causes thedevice to attempt to puff continuously, the control component 208 maycontrol at least one functional element to terminate the puffautomatically after some period of time (e.g., four seconds). Further,the time between puffs on the device may be restricted to less than aperiod of time (e.g., 100 seconds). A watchdog safety timer mayautomatically reset the aerosol delivery device if its control componentor software running on it becomes unstable and does not service thetimer within an appropriate time interval (e.g., eight seconds). Furthersafety protection may be provided in the event of a defective orotherwise failed flow sensor 210, such as by permanently disabling theaerosol delivery device in order to prevent inadvertent heating. Apuffing limit switch may deactivate the device in the event of apressure sensor fail causing the device to continuously activate withoutstopping after the four second maximum puff time.

The aerosol delivery device 100 may include a puff tracking algorithmconfigured for heater lockout once a defined number of puffs has beenachieved for an attached cartridge (based on the number of availablepuffs calculated in light of the e-liquid charge in the cartridge). Theaerosol delivery device may also include a proximity sensor configuredto measure a fluid level of the e-liquid in real-time, as described inU.S. patent application Ser. No. 15/261,307 to Sur et al., filed Sep. 9,2016, which is incorporated herein by reference. The aerosol deliverydevice may include a sleep, standby or low-power mode function wherebypower delivery may be automatically cut off after a defined period ofnon-use. Further safety protection may be provided in that allcharge/discharge cycles of the power source 212 may be monitored by thecontrol component 208 over its lifetime. After the power source hasattained the equivalent of a predetermined number (e.g., 200) of fulldischarge and full recharge cycles, it may be declared depleted, and thecontrol component may control at least one functional element to preventfurther charging of the power source.

The various components of an aerosol delivery device according to thepresent disclosure can be chosen from components described in the artand commercially available. Examples of batteries that can be usedaccording to the disclosure are described in U.S. Pat. App. Pub. No.2010/0028766 to Peckerar et al., which is incorporated herein byreference.

The aerosol delivery device 100 can incorporate the sensor 210 oranother sensor or detector for control of supply of electric power tothe heater 220 when aerosol generation is desired (e.g., upon drawduring use). As such, for example, there is provided a manner or methodof turning off power to the heater when the aerosol delivery device isnot be drawn upon during use, and for turning on power to actuate ortrigger the generation of heat by the heater during draw. Additionalrepresentative types of sensing or detection mechanisms, structure andconfiguration thereof, components thereof, and general methods ofoperation thereof, are described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,261,424 to Sprinkel,Jr., U.S. Pat. No. 5,372,148 to McCafferty et al., and PCT Pat. App.Pub. No. WO 2010/003480 to Flick, all of which are incorporated hereinby reference.

The aerosol delivery device 100 most preferably incorporates the controlcomponent 208 or another control mechanism for controlling the amount ofelectric power to the heater 220 during draw. Representative types ofelectronic components, structure and configuration thereof, featuresthereof, and general methods of operation thereof, are described in U.S.Pat. No. 4,735,217 to Gerth et al., U.S. Pat. No. 4,947,874 to Brooks etal., U.S. Pat. No. 5,372,148 to McCafferty et al., U.S. Pat. No.6,040,560 to Fleischhauer et al., U.S. Pat. No. 7,040,314 to Nguyen etal., U.S. Pat. No. 8,205,622 to Pan, U.S. Pat. App. Pub. No.2009/0230117 to Fernando et al., U.S. Pat. App. Pub. No. 2014/0060554 toCollet et al., U.S. Pat. App. Pub. No. 2014/0270727 to Ampolini et al.,and U.S. Pat. App. Pub. No. 2015/0257445 to Henry et al., all of whichare incorporated herein by reference.

Representative types of substrates, reservoirs or other components forsupporting the aerosol precursor are described in U.S. Pat. No.8,528,569 to Newton, U.S. Pat. App. Pub. No. 2014/0261487 to Chapman etal., U.S. Pat. App. Pub. No. 2015/0059780 to Davis et al., and U.S. Pat.App. Pub. No. 2015/0216232 to Bless et al., all of which areincorporated herein by reference. Additionally, various wickingmaterials, and the configuration and operation of those wickingmaterials within certain types of electronic cigarettes, are set forthin U.S. Pat. App. Pub. No. 2014/0209105 to Sears et al., which isincorporated herein by reference.

The aerosol precursor composition, also referred to as a vapor precursorcomposition, may comprise a variety of components including, by way ofexample, a polyhydric alcohol (e.g., glycerin, propylene glycol or amixture thereof), nicotine, tobacco, tobacco extract and/or flavorants.Representative types of aerosol precursor components and formulationsalso are set forth and characterized in U.S. Pat. No. 7,217,320 toRobinson et al. and U.S. Pat. Pub. Nos. 2013/0008457 to Zheng et al.;2013/0213417 to Chong et al.; 2014/0060554 to Collett et al.;2015/0020823 to Lipowicz et al.; and 2015/0020830 to Koller, as well asWO 2014/182736 to Bowen et al., and U.S. patent application Ser. No.15/222,615 to Watson et al., filed Jul. 28, 2016, the disclosures ofwhich are incorporated herein by reference. Other aerosol precursorsthat may be employed include the aerosol precursors that have beenincorporated in the VUSE® product by R. J. Reynolds Vapor Company, theBLU™ product by Imperial Tobacco Group PLC, the MISTIC MENTHOL productby Mistic Ecigs, and the VYPE product by CN Creative Ltd. Also desirableare the so-called “smoke juices” for electronic cigarettes that havebeen available from Johnson Creek Enterprises LLC.

Additional representative types of components that yield visual cues orindicators may be employed in the aerosol delivery device 100, such asvisual indicators and related components, audio indicators, hapticindicators and the like. Examples of suitable LED components, and theconfigurations and uses thereof, are described in U.S. Pat. No.5,154,192 to Sprinkel et al., U.S. Pat. No. 8,499,766 to Newton, U.S.Pat. No. 8,539,959 to Scatterday, and U.S. Pat. App. Pub. No.2015/0216233 to Sears et al., all of which are incorporated herein byreference. The LED components may also have quantum dots embeddedtherein for higher efficiency.

Yet other features, controls or components that can be incorporated intoaerosol delivery devices of the present disclosure are described in U.S.Pat. No. 5,967,148 to Harris et al., U.S. Pat. No. 5,934,289 to Watkinset al., U.S. Pat. No. 5,954,979 to Counts et al., U.S. Pat. No.6,040,560 to Fleischhauer et al., U.S. Pat. No. 8,365,742 to Hon, U.S.Pat. No. 8,402,976 to Fernando et al., U.S. Pat. App. Pub. No.2005/0016550 to Katase, U.S. Pat. App. Pub. No. 2010/0163063 to Fernandoet al., U.S. Pat. App. Pub. No. 2013/0192623 to Tucker et al., U.S. Pat.App. Pub. No. 2013/0298905 to Leven et al., U.S. Pat. App. Pub. No.2013/0180553 to Kim et al., U.S. Pat. App. Pub. No. 2014/0000638 toSebastian et al., U.S. Pat. App. Pub. No. 2014/0261495 to Novak et al.,and U.S. Pat. App. Pub. No. 2014/0261408 to DePiano et al., all of whichare incorporated herein by reference.

As indicated above, the control component 208 includes a number ofelectronic components, and in some examples may be formed of a PCB. Theelectronic components may include a microprocessor or processor core,and a memory. In some examples, the control component may include amicrocontroller with integrated processor core and memory which may bean electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM) or flashmemory, and may further include one or more integrated input/outputperipherals. In some examples, the control component may be coupled to acommunication interface 246 to enable wireless communication (e.g.,wireless communication via a Bluetooth low energy (BLE) device or WiFi)with one or more networks, computing devices or otherappropriately-enabled devices. Examples of suitable communicationinterfaces are disclosed in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 14/638,562to Marion et al., filed Mar. 4, 2015, the content of which isincorporated herein by reference. And examples of suitable mannersaccording to which the aerosol delivery device may be configured towirelessly communicate are disclosed in U.S. Pat. App. Pub. No.2016/0007651 to Ampolini et al., and U.S. Pat. App. Pub. No.2016/0219933 to Henry, Jr. et al., each of which is incorporated hereinby reference.

In accordance with some example implementations, the control body 102may include a humidity sensor 248 configured to measure a propertythereof that is variable with relative humidity in an environment of theaerosol delivery device (to which the humidity sensor is exposed). Thehumidity sensor may then generate a corresponding signal that indicatesa value of the property from which the relative humidity is calculable.

Examples of a suitable humidity sensor 248 may be or include acapacitive, resistive or thermal conductive humidity sensor. In someexamples, the humidity sensor may generate a digital output which may bepresented on a display (e.g., an LED panel) or transmitted via wirelesscommunication (e.g., using a BLE device) to a remote device orapplication. For instance, the humidity sensor may be a capacitivehumidity sensor configured to measure the property including measuring adielectric constant thereof that is directly proportional to therelative humidity in the environment. In another instance, the humiditysensor may be a resistive humidity sensor configured to measure theproperty including measuring an impedance thereof that is exponentiallyproportional to the relative humidity in the environment. In someexamples, the humidity sensor may be positioned within the mouthend ofthe aerosol delivery device to enable measurement of the humidity insidethe mouth of the user. In these examples, based on the measured humidityinside the mouth of the user, the aerosol delivery device may produceaerosol of a certain particle size that correlates to a user-specifichumidity profile for an optimal puff.

Examples of suitable capacitive humidity sensors are disclosed in U.S.Pat. No. 6,647,782 to Toyoda and U.S. Pat. No. 7,032,448 to Hamamoto,each of which is incorporated herein by reference. Examples of suitableresistive humidity sensors are disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,229,318 toSuda, which is incorporated herein by reference. Examples of suitablethermal conductivity humidity sensors are disclosed in U.S. Pat. No.6,843,100 to Blair, III et al., and U.S. Pat. App. Pub. No. 2015/0061706to Kotnala et al., each of which is incorporated herein by reference.

FIG. 3 more particularly illustrates the aerosol delivery device 100including the humidity sensor 248. As previously indicated, the humiditysensor may be configured to generate a corresponding signal thatindicates a value of the property (measurable property of the humiditysensor) from which the relative humidity is calculable. The controlcomponent 208 or the humidity sensor may be configured to calculate therelative humidity from the value indicated by the corresponding signal,and control operation of at least one functional element 302 of theaerosol delivery device 100 based on the relative humidity socalculated.

Generally, the functional elements 302 of the aerosol delivery device100 may be controlled in any of a number of different manners inresponse to the calculated relative humidity or measured temperature.For example, control of the functional element(s) 302 may include outputof the relative humidity for presentation by a display 304. In anotherexample, an indicator 250 (e.g., visual indicator, audio indicator,haptic indicator) may be controlled to provide a user-perceptiblefeedback (e.g., visual, audible, vibrational, haptic feedback). As yetanother example, functional element(s) may be controlled to alter alocked state of the aerosol delivery device 100. This may include, forexample, disabling one or more components of the aerosol delivery devicefrom operation based on the calculated humidity.

In some examples, the humidity sensor 248 is also configured to measurea temperature in the environment, and generate a second correspondingsignal that indicates the temperature. In these examples, the controlcomponent 208 or humidity sensor may be configured to control thefunctional element(s) 302 based on the temperature indicated by thesecond corresponding signal. Further, in these examples, the controlcomponent may be configured to control of the functional element(s) mayadditionally include output of the temperature for presentation by thedisplay. In some examples, the relative humidity and temperature may beoutput for presentation by the display in a tabular or graphic formatincluding a numerical value being presented on an LED display, forexample.

In some examples in which the control body 102 includes a communicationinterface 246, control of the functional element(s) 302 may includecontrol of the communication interface to cause the communicationinterface to wirelessly communicate (e.g., wireless communication via aBluetooth low energy (BLE) device or WiFi) the relative humidity to acomputing device external to the aerosol delivery device 100 (anexternal computing device). This computing device may also be embodiedas a number of different devices configured to control a humidificationsystem in response to the relative humidity being below a predeterminedthreshold. Examples of suitable computing devices include any of anumber of different mobile computers, such as portable computers (e.g.,laptops, notebooks, tablet computers), mobile phones (e.g., cell phones,smartphones), wearable computers (e.g., smartwatches) and the like. Inother examples, the computing device may be embodied as other than amobile computer, such as in the manner of a desktop computer, servercomputer or the like.

As also shown in FIG. 3, the aerosol delivery device 100, and morespecifically the control body 102 may include a number of electroniccomponents, which may include a decoupling capacitor 306, linearregulator 308, switching regulator or the like. The decoupling capacitormay be operatively coupled to the humidity sensor 248 and configured toreduce noise associated with the corresponding signal. The rechargeablepower source may be configured to power the humidity sensor, and mayinclude a LiB, thin-film SSB or supercapacitor. In these examples, thelinear regulator or switching regulator may be operatively coupledbetween the power source and humidity sensor, and configured to direct aconstant current from the power source to the humidity sensor. In somealternative examples, the power source may be or include an energyharvesting device configured to boosts the voltage from a PV cell from0.8 V to 3.5V and thereby provide the required power to the circuitrycontaining the humidity sensor without the need of a battery. Examplesof suitable energy harvesting devices may include the Ultralow PowerEnergy Harvesting PMU with MPPT, Charge Management and Input PowerMonitor (ADP5091) commercial product manufactured by Analog device.

Referring again to FIG. 2, in addition to or in lieu of the control body102, the cartridge may include a humidity sensor 252 (e.g., capacitive,resistive or thermal conductivity humidity sensor), and perhaps also anindicator 254. Similar to above, functional element(s) of the aerosoldelivery device 100 may be controlled in any of a number of differentmanners in response to the calculated relative humidity. For example,the relative humidity may be output for presentation by a display (e.g.,LED display), or an indicator 250, 254 may be controlled to provide auser-perceptible feedback.

The foregoing description of use of the article(s) can be applied to thevarious example implementations described herein through minormodifications, which can be apparent to the person of skill in the artin light of the further disclosure provided herein. The abovedescription of use, however, is not intended to limit the use of thearticle but is provided to comply with all necessary requirements ofdisclosure of the present disclosure. Any of the elements shown in thearticle(s) illustrated in FIGS. 1-3 or as otherwise described above maybe included in an aerosol delivery device according to the presentdisclosure.

Many modifications and other implementations of the disclosure set forthherein will come to mind to one skilled in the art to which thisdisclosure pertains having the benefit of the teachings presented in theforegoing descriptions and the associated drawings. Therefore, it is tobe understood that the disclosure is not to be limited to the specificimplementations disclosed, and that modifications and otherimplementations are intended to be included within the scope of theappended claims. Moreover, although the foregoing descriptions and theassociated drawings describe example implementations in the context ofcertain example combinations of elements and/or functions, it should beappreciated that different combinations of elements and/or functions maybe provided by alternative implementations without departing from thescope of the appended claims. In this regard, for example, differentcombinations of elements and/or functions than those explicitlydescribed above are also contemplated as may be set forth in some of theappended claims. Although specific terms are employed herein, they areused in a generic and descriptive sense only and not for purposes oflimitation.

What is claimed is:
 1. An aerosol delivery device comprising: at leastone housing enclosing a reservoir configured to retain an aerosolprecursor composition; a heating element; a control component configuredto operate in an active mode in which the control component isconfigured to control the heating element to activate and vaporizecomponents of the aerosol precursor composition; and at least one sensorconfigured to measure a property of the at least one sensor that isvariable with relative humidity in an environment of the aerosoldelivery device, and generate a corresponding signal that indicates avalue of the property from which the relative humidity is calculable,wherein the housing of the aerosol delivery device defines a mouthendhaving the at least one sensor positioned therein, and the environmentof the aerosol delivery device includes a mouth of a user of the aerosoldelivery device, wherein the control component or the at least onesensor is further configured to calculate the relative humidity from thevalue indicated by the corresponding signal, and control operation of atleast one functional element of the aerosol delivery device based on therelative humidity so calculated, including being configured to alter aparticle size of an aerosol produced thereby.
 2. The aerosol deliverydevice of claim 1, wherein the at least one sensor is a capacitive,resistive or thermal conductive humidity sensor.
 3. The aerosol deliverydevice of claim 1, wherein the at least one sensor is a resistivehumidity sensor, and the at least one sensor being configured to measurethe property includes the resistive humidity sensor being configured tomeasure an impedance thereof that is exponentially proportional to therelative humidity in the environment.
 4. The aerosol delivery device ofclaim 1, wherein the at least one sensor is a capacitive humiditysensor, and the at least one sensor being configured to measure theproperty includes the capacitive humidity sensor being configured tomeasure a dielectric constant thereof that is directly proportional tothe relative humidity in the environment.
 5. The aerosol delivery deviceof claim 1 further comprising a decoupling capacitor operatively coupledto the at least one sensor and configured to reduce noise associatedwith the corresponding signal.
 6. The aerosol delivery device of claim 1further comprising a power source configured to power the at least onesensor and including a lithium ion battery (LiB), thin-film solid statebattery (SSB) or supercapacitor.
 7. The aerosol delivery device of claim6 further comprising a linear regulator operatively coupled between thepower source and at least one sensor, and configured to direct aconstant current from the power source to the at least one sensor. 8.The aerosol delivery device of claim 1, wherein the control component orthe at least one sensor being further configured to control operation ofthe at least one functional element of the aerosol delivery deviceincludes output of the relative humidity for presentation by a displayin a tabular or graphic format.
 9. The aerosol delivery device of claim1 further comprising a communication interface configured to enablewireless communication, wherein the control component or the at leastone sensor being further configured to control operation of the at leastone functional element includes being configured to cause thecommunication interface to wirelessly communicate the relative humidityto a computing device configured to control a humidification system inresponse thereto.
 10. The aerosol delivery device of claim 1, whereinthe at least one sensor is further configured to measure a temperaturein the environment, and generate a second corresponding signal thatindicates the temperature, and wherein the control component or the atleast one sensor being further configured to control the at least onefunctional element includes being configured to control the at least onefunctional element further based on the temperature indicated by thesecond corresponding signal, and control of the at least one functionalelement additionally includes output of the temperature for presentationby a display.
 11. A control body coupled or coupleable with a cartridgeto form an aerosol delivery device, the cartridge being equipped with aheating element and containing an aerosol precursor composition, thecontrol body comprising: a housing; and within the housing, a controlcomponent configured to operate in an active mode in which the controlcomponent is configured to control the heating element to activate andvaporize components of the aerosol precursor composition; and at leastone sensor configured to measure a property of the at least one sensorthat is variable with relative humidity in an environment of the aerosoldelivery device, and generate a corresponding signal that indicates avalue of the property from which the relative humidity is calculable,wherein the housing of the aerosol delivery device defines a mouthendhaving the at least one sensor positioned therein, and the environmentof the aerosol delivery device includes a mouth of a user of the aerosoldelivery device, wherein the control component or the at least onesensor is further configured to calculate the relative humidity from thevalue indicated by the corresponding signal, and control operation of atleast one functional element of the aerosol delivery device based on therelative humidity so calculated, including being configured to alter aparticle size of an aerosol produced thereby.
 12. The control body ofclaim 11, wherein the at least one sensor is a capacitive, resistive orthermal conductive humidity sensor.
 13. The control body of claim 11,wherein the at least one sensor is a resistive humidity sensor, and theat least one sensor being configured to measure the property includesthe resistive humidity sensor being configured to measure an impedancethereof that is exponentially proportional to the relative humidity inthe environment.
 14. The control body of claim 11, wherein the at leastone sensor is a capacitive humidity sensor, and the at least one sensorbeing configured to measure the property includes the capacitivehumidity sensor being configured to measure a dielectric constantthereof that is directly proportional to the relative humidity in theenvironment.
 15. The control body of claim 11 further comprising adecoupling capacitor operatively coupled to the at least one sensor andconfigured to reduce noise associated with the corresponding signal. 16.The control body of claim 11 further comprising a power sourceconfigured to power the at least one sensor and including a lithium ionbattery (LiB), thin-film solid state battery (SSB) or supercapacitor.17. The control body of claim 16 further comprising a linear regulatoroperatively coupled between the power source and at least one sensor,and configured to direct a constant current from the power source to theat least one sensor.
 18. The control body of claim 11, wherein thecontrol component or the at least one sensor being further configured tocontrol operation of the at least one functional element of the aerosoldelivery device includes output of the relative humidity forpresentation by a display in a tabular or graphic format.
 19. Thecontrol body of claim 11 further comprising a communication interfaceconfigured to enable wireless communication, wherein the controlcomponent or the at least one sensor being further configured to controloperation of the at least one functional element includes beingconfigured to cause the communication interface to wirelesslycommunicate the relative humidity to a computing device configured tocontrol a humidification system in response thereto.
 20. The controlbody of claim 11, wherein the at least one sensor is further configuredto measure a temperature in the environment, and generate a secondcorresponding signal that indicates the temperature, and wherein thecontrol component or the at least one sensor being further configured tocontrol the at least one functional element includes being configured tocontrol the at least one functional element further based on thetemperature indicated by the second corresponding signal, and control ofthe at least one functional element additionally includes output of thetemperature for presentation by a display.
 21. An aerosol deliverydevice comprising: at least one housing enclosing a reservoir configuredto retain an aerosol precursor composition; a heating element; a controlcomponent configured to operate in an active mode in which the controlcomponent is configured to control the heating element to activate andvaporize components of the aerosol precursor composition; and at leastone sensor configured to measure a property of the at least one sensorthat is variable with relative humidity in an environment of the aerosoldelivery device, and generate a corresponding signal that indicates avalue of the property from which the relative humidity is calculable,wherein the control component or the at least one sensor is furtherconfigured to calculate the relative humidity from the value indicatedby the corresponding signal, and control operation of at least onefunctional element of the aerosol delivery device based on the relativehumidity so calculated, wherein the control component or the at leastone sensor being further configured to control operation of the at leastone functional element of the aerosol delivery device includes beingconfigured to alter a locked state of the aerosol delivery device bydisabling one or more components of the aerosol delivery device fromoperation based on the calculated relative humidity.
 22. The aerosoldelivery device of claim 21, wherein the at least one sensor is acapacitive, resistive or thermal conductive humidity sensor.
 23. Theaerosol delivery device of claim 21, wherein the at least one sensor isa resistive humidity sensor, and the at least one sensor beingconfigured to measure the property includes the resistive humiditysensor being configured to measure an impedance thereof that isexponentially proportional to the relative humidity in the environment.24. The aerosol delivery device of claim 21, wherein the at least onesensor is a capacitive humidity sensor, and the at least one sensorbeing configured to measure the property includes the capacitivehumidity sensor being configured to measure a dielectric constantthereof that is directly proportional to the relative humidity in theenvironment.
 25. The aerosol delivery device of claim 21 furthercomprising a decoupling capacitor operatively coupled to the at leastone sensor and configured to reduce noise associated with thecorresponding signal.
 26. The aerosol delivery device of claim 21further comprising a power source configured to power the at least onesensor and including a lithium ion battery (LiB), thin-film solid statebattery (SSB) or supercapacitor.
 27. The aerosol delivery device ofclaim 26 further comprising a linear regulator operatively coupledbetween the power source and at least one sensor, and configured todirect a constant current from the power source to the at least onesensor.
 28. The aerosol delivery device of claim 21, wherein the controlcomponent or the at least one sensor being further configured to controloperation of the at least one functional element of the aerosol deliverydevice includes output of the relative humidity for presentation by adisplay in a tabular or graphic format.
 29. The aerosol delivery deviceof claim 21 further comprising a communication interface configured toenable wireless communication, wherein the control component or the atleast one sensor being further configured to control operation of the atleast one functional element includes being configured to cause thecommunication interface to wirelessly communicate the relative humidityto a computing device configured to control a humidification system inresponse thereto.
 30. The aerosol delivery device of claim 21, whereinthe at least one sensor is further configured to measure a temperaturein the environment, and generate a second corresponding signal thatindicates the temperature, and wherein the control component or the atleast one sensor being further configured to control the at least onefunctional element includes being configured to control the at least onefunctional element further based on the temperature indicated by thesecond corresponding signal, and control of the at least one functionalelement additionally includes output of the temperature for presentationby a display.
 31. A control body coupled or coupleable with a cartridgeto form an aerosol delivery device, the cartridge being equipped with aheating element and containing an aerosol precursor composition, thecontrol body comprising: a housing; and within the housing, a controlcomponent configured to operate in an active mode in which the controlcomponent is configured to control the heating element to activate andvaporize components of the aerosol precursor composition, and at leastone sensor configured to measure a property of the at least one sensorthat is variable with relative humidity in an environment of the aerosoldelivery device, and generate a corresponding signal that indicates avalue of the property from which the relative humidity is calculable,wherein the control component or the at least one sensor is furtherconfigured to calculate the relative humidity from the value indicatedby the corresponding signal, and control operation of at least onefunctional element of the aerosol delivery device based on the relativehumidity so calculated, wherein the control component or the at leastone sensor being further configured to control operation of the at leastone functional element of the aerosol delivery device includes beingconfigured to alter a locked state of the aerosol delivery device bydisabling one or more components of the aerosol delivery device fromoperation based on the calculated relative humidity.
 32. The controlbody of claim 31, wherein the at least one sensor is a capacitive,resistive or thermal conductive humidity sensor.
 33. The control body ofclaim 31, wherein the at least one sensor is a resistive humiditysensor, and the at least one sensor being configured to measure theproperty includes the resistive humidity sensor being configured tomeasure an impedance thereof that is exponentially proportional to therelative humidity in the environment.
 34. The control body of claim 31,wherein the at least one sensor is a capacitive humidity sensor, and theat least one sensor being configured to measure the property includesthe capacitive humidity sensor being configured to measure a dielectricconstant thereof that is directly proportional to the relative humidityin the environment.
 35. The control body of claim 31 further comprisinga decoupling capacitor operatively coupled to the at least one sensorand configured to reduce noise associated with the corresponding signal.36. The control body of claim 31 further comprising a power sourceconfigured to power the at least one sensor and including a lithium ionbattery (LiB), thin-film solid state battery (SSB) or supercapacitor.37. The control body of claim 36 further comprising a linear regulatoroperatively coupled between the power source and at least one sensor,and configured to direct a constant current from the power source to theat least one sensor.
 38. The control body of claim 31, wherein thecontrol component or the at least one sensor being further configured tocontrol operation of the at least one functional element of the aerosoldelivery device includes output of the relative humidity forpresentation by a display in a tabular or graphic format.
 39. Thecontrol body of claim 31 further comprising a communication interfaceconfigured to enable wireless communication, wherein the controlcomponent or the at least one sensor being further configured to controloperation of the at least one functional element includes beingconfigured to cause the communication interface to wirelesslycommunicate the relative humidity to a computing device configured tocontrol a humidification system in response thereto.
 40. The controlbody of claim 31, wherein the at least one sensor is further configuredto measure a temperature in the environment, and generate a secondcorresponding signal that indicates the temperature, and wherein thecontrol component or the at least one sensor being further configured tocontrol the at least one functional element includes being configured tocontrol the at least one functional element further based on thetemperature indicated by the second corresponding signal, and control ofthe at least one functional element additionally includes output of thetemperature for presentation by a display.